Pattu Kolavizhi Amman Temple, Mylapore – Temple
This Temple
is originally a village temple. The sanctum enshrines two Goddesses; the
gigantic Bhadra Kali and Kolavizhi. Kali has eight arms and is in the sitting
posture. The presiding deity of the temple is Pattu Kolavizhi Amman, a form of
Sakthi with excellent eyes. Amman is armed with weapons in her hands to kill
the fear and evil, the thali (Mangal sutra) which Amman wearing here is really
a big in size and the Dharshan of the thali is believed to relive the hurdles
in marriage. Kolavizhi Amman is considered as the guardian deity of Mylapore
village.
She is
even referred as Mayurapuri Grama Devata. The deity in this temple is Suyambhu
in form, she is known for her love and affection towards her devotees. She is
also known as Chocolate Amman. The main sanctum has the Amman in a small Ugra
Roopam and towering above her is the Shanta Swaroopa Ananda Kolavizhi Amman.
All Abhishekams are for the Ugra Roopam and the Shanta swaroopam gets only an
oil coating, it is a very arresting Idol.
On
entering the temple, Vinayagar can be seen beneath the combination of peepal
and neem tree and the other side of the tree Anjaneyar is seated in a separate sannidhi.
There are also other deities like Pachai Pattu Kolavizhi Amman, Aparna Kali
Amman, Ananda Kolavizhi Amman, Mangala Kali Amman, Naga Devta, Ayyappa,
Dhakshinamoorthy and Kailasa Kabali in the Temple.
Seven
bricks representing Sapta Matas as well as a new sub-shrine for Sapta Matas are
also found. It should be noted that Indrani is replaced with Nagendri among the
Sapta Matas. In ardha mandapam, Ganesh and Murugan idols are located. Four big
relief images are new addition to the temple. They look attractive and
noticeable. They are Ganesh, Murugan, Karuppanna Swami and Valmiki.
This is
one of the few temples of Chennai where Valmiki Rishi is found. The temple has
only limited number of shrines; however, it is spread across a vast area.
Probably, many sub-shrines might be built in the future. This is the typical
way of village temples getting expanded and imitate the main stream temples.